Bulldogs to test luck in Las Vegas

The Craig Parks and Recreation Department has two deadlines fast approaching for a youth basketball league and a youth indoor recreational soccer league.

The youth basketball league is for kindergarten through second grade and its deadline is Wednesday. The indoor recreational soccer league deadline is Jan. 12.

"In the basketball league we split up the boys and girls into separate teams," said Recreation Coordinator Pam Brethauer. "Last year, for the boys, we had 10 teams and we play four-on-four. In the girls division we had six teams."

The basketball league is played at Sunset Elementary School.

"The league is a really good intro to basketball," said Brethauer. "We try to work with them to dribble and walk at the same time. The kids just have a really good time."

The soccer league runs each Thursday and it starts Jan. 27 and ends Feb. 24. Games will be at Craig Middle School.

"There are two indoor soccer leagues in town and the other one is a little bit more competitive than ours. They have tournaments on the weekends and stuff like that," said Brethauer.

The soccer league is for children between 5 and 15 years old.

"Last year we had 15 teams in the league," said Brethauer. "On a team we usually have anywhere from five to 10 players."

Brethauer believes children who play in the soccer league get a good workout.

"For the younger kids we play three-on-three and we usually have five kids on a team," said Brethauer. "The older kids play full court and they play four-on-four because they have to run all the time."

According to Brethauer, sign-up for the leauge is below average, but she believes things will pick up.

"Right now we have between 30 or 40 kids signed up for soccer," she said. "People usually wait to the last day and so we will be busy next week. We are hoping to have at least 100 kids in the league.

"The soccer league is mainly for the kids that haven't played soccer before and we want them to come out and get an idea for the game. The league will help you decide if you like the game or not, or if you want to become more skilled at it."